‘Those with ‘pucca houses’ should not get PMAY funds’

KOLKATA: Actor and Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP from Ghatal, Deepak Adhikari, popularly known as Dev said lack of education is the sole reason behind the series of stone pelting incidents at Vande Bharat Express.

He also stated that those with ‘pucca houses should not get Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) funds’.

Dev, who was in his constituency for the Ghatal MP Cup 2023 Final Cricket Competition, said if kids are taught to respect public properties, these incidents will not happen. He also mentioned that the train is public property and it is the general public who will suffer if public property is destroyed.

“These incidents are happening due to a lack of education. They fail to understand that the train is public property. Modiji or Didi will not ride the train but the general public are the passengers. The relatives of those throwing stones might also travel on the train. The train is not a symbol of politics. This is not an issue of politics or political people. We can’t educate the people enough and hence, these kinds of incidents are happening,” said the actor.

After several incidents of stone pelting at the recently-launched Vande Bharat Express connecting Howrah to New Jalpaiguri, preliminary investigation revealed it took place while the train was passing through Bihar.

When asked about the alleged irregularities in Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), the TMC MP said the deserving should be allotted the houses. He condemned the malpractices of any party member, be it of his party or others involved in the allegations. “There may be instances of ineligible people getting PMAY funds but the TMC’s top leadership has zero tolerance for it,” he said.“The poor people who do not have a roof above them should be allotted houses. What’s wrong is wrong. If it’s done by my party or any other party, what is wrong is wrong,” added Dev. He also distributed aids and assistive devices to Divyangjan in Daspur, Ghatal.